Text of the Week: So then you are no longer
strangers and aliens, but you are citizens with
the saints and also members of the household
of God, built upon the foundation of the
apostles and prophets, with Christ Jesus himself
as the cornerstone. Ephesians 2:19-20

Welcome to our services on the first Sunday in Advent and a
special welcome to any worshipping with us for the first time.
It’s the vision we have for our church … but what happens
when you put it into practice? That’s the question we’ll be
asking through Advent as we seek to put Christ at the centre of
our own lives, of our church life together and of our
involvement with the world around us. We begin today by
reflecting together on the way we can put Christ at the centre
of our own lives. Through the year we have been reading the
Bible together with the help of the IBRA notes, Fresh from the
Word. If you would like to order notes for 2017 please add
your name to the list or have a word with Rachel Jacques. Our
Bible reading plan takes us in Advent through Paul’s letter to
the Ephesians. Having Christ at the centre of our lives is for
Paul the richest of all blessings as it unlocks for us what our
lives are all about: it gives us an identity and a purpose for the
living of our lives. This Thursday at our Church Meeting we will
explore ways in which we can ensure that Christ is at the
centre of our Church life together. Do join us as we then focus
in our meeting on the children and young people in our church
family.

Welcome
and Call to Worship

Praise
and Worship with Hy-Spirit

Prayer
and the Lord’s Prayer

The
First Advent Candle

Reading:
John 10:9 and 11

The
Good Shepherd

As
we light the first of our Advent candles our prayers are with those of our
church family who are awaiting treatment in hospital. As we put Christ at the
centre of our lives we look to him as the Gate through which we enter into the presence
of the love of God and as the Good Shepherd who seeks the lost, binds up those
who are hurting and lays his life down for his sheep.

I
am the gate. Whoever enters by me will be saved, and will come in and go out
and find pasture. I came that they may have life, and have it abundantly.

‘I am the good shepherd. The good shepherd
lays down his life for the sheep.

A
Japanese Christian once reflected on what was needed in the tiger economies of
the far East where in the drive for efficiency and growth people work all hours
and children are pressured to reach targets in demanding exams. He concluded
that what was needed was a water buffalo theology that slowed life down.

The
Gospel of Christ brings with it a slowness that brings peace beyond all our
understanding.

At
our Messy Church last week we reflected on the Good Shepherd and for the meal
had place mats with different versions of the 23rd Psalm.

This
is one that is special.

Toki
Miyashina

The
Lord is my Pace Setter, I shall not rush,

He
makes me stop and rest for quiet intervals,

He
provides me with images of stillness,

Which
restore my serenity.

He
leads me in ways of efficiency,

through
calmness of mind; and his guidance is peace.

Even
though I have a great many things to accomplish each day,

I
will not fret, for his presence is here.

His
timelessness, his all-importance will keep me in balance.

He
prepares refreshment and renewal in the midst of my activity,

by
anointing my head with his oils of tranquility,

My
cup of joyous energy overflows.

Surely
harmony and effectiveness shall be the fruit of my hours,

For
I shall walk in the pace of my Lord,

and
dwell in his house for ever.

A
Hy-Spirit Song

Activities
for all over 3

Christ
at the Centre or our lives

To
me it matters.

Having
that other dimension in your life that is more than the material things we can
see and posess.

Something
that makes sense of life.

I
guess for me that’s where religion comes in.

There
is a God dimension in the world that somehow fills a God-shaped hole in my
make-up.

Think
of that the other way round – it’s as if there’s a God dimension inside me that
makes a difference and is all important to me.

Maybe
it’s a Goddimension that’s simply there something of God in everonee

I
love exploring the thinking of that and what’s important.

I
guess that’s what makes me a religious person.

But
I find there’s more than that.

From
simply acknowledging a religious dimension in my life I then feel I want to be
aware of that – I want to bring that dimension to the surface as it were.

That’s
where I value having as one part of what makes me a spirituality. That seems to
me more than simply being religious.

In
a very real sense that religious dimension can be felt, can be sensed but it is
a matter of faith – and I recognize all sorts of relifioous people with all
sorts of faith backgrounds and all sorts of faith.

Somehow
having something to believe in is important.

It
is often said – it’s important to believe in something – that’s the important
thing.

It’s
somethiing many people have an awareness of. Taking funerals you encounter all
sorts of people with all sorts of ways of thinking – they will have involvd me
in taking a funeral because they want something religious – and I think it’s
one of the big priviledge I have that I am asked to share at an important oint
in people’s lives.

You
recognize and I hoonour somehow an innate sense of god – and a sense also of
the spiritual.

But
I feel thre’s a value in bringing it into life now.

Many
peole sense the religious and are drawn to some kind of spirituality – a
practice of meditation – the popularity of Mind and Spirit sections in bookshops – outweighing
the religious sections.

I
sense a need people sense of doing something spiritual. Different thjings come and go. At the moment it is mindfulness That involves
deliberately being mindful of this present moment – and focusing on this
moment.

Putting
away thoughts of what has happened putting away thoughts of foreboding about
what might happen and being mindful in the present.

Of
tremendous value – and has made a difference I can see.

But
something is missing for me.

The
different religions share common values and I want to take a common stand on
common ground – but those different religions are different. They have
different focal points. And what you focus on seems to me to matter.

Yes
I honour the right for everyone to believe as they see fit. But it’s not true
to say that it’s ok so long as you believe in something. The outcome of this
week’s court case was the declaration that the murder of Jo Cox was a terrorist
murder – there are -isms people pin their whole lives to that are massively
damaging and corrupting. What you believe matters.

What
you focus on in the practice of your spirituatlity can make a difference too.

So
how does all this work out for me as a Christian?

Increasingly
I sense the importance of not just the Christian religion, not just faith in
Christ, or the practice of prayer the Christian way – what is important to me
is Jesus Christ – what counts is putting him at the centre of the living of my
life.

Not
as one interesting thing among others but as the One who makes sense of
everything else.

What
does it look like to put Christ at the centre of our personal lives?

Paul
was a very religious person.

Paul
had a very strong faith

He
practiced a strong spirituality

But
then something happened to make sense of the rest of his life.

An
encounter with Jesus Christ.

He
ended his life in prison where he wrote letters of support to churches he had
visited and founded.

Among
them was the church in Ephesus. The letter we have is the inspiration of what
Paul had to share with that church - we
are going to be reading Ephesians through Advent in Fresh from the Word.

Do
order your new copies of Fresh from the Word from Rachel for 2017 and we shall
continue reading together.

What
does putting Jesus at the centre of our own personal lives mean/

This
is what Paul addresses in Ephesians 1:3-14.

Blessed
be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us in Christ
with every spiritual blessingin the heavenly
places, just as he chose us in Christ before the foundation of the world to be
holy and blameless before him in love.

AS
the stories of Christmas unfold and we focus again on the coming of Christ we
can dig into the story of Jesus and see all he did – but as we touch Jesus we
touch something beyond – the glory of God in all his glory.

There
is a sense of touching the God who is love – and so these spiritual blessings
draw us to the God who is love.

This
is something that goes to the heart of the teaching of Jesaus it goes to the
heart of all that Jesus means – it goes to the heart of all that we are.

He destined us for adoption as his children
through Jesus Christ, according to the good pleasure of his will, to
the praise of his glorious grace that he freely bestowed on us in the Beloved.

That
wonderful swense of being family

In him we have redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of
our trespasses, according to the riches of his grace that he lavished on us.

It’s
a setting free – jesus who maps out the way we should follow but brings
forgiveness as we fail to follow that path and thereby strengthens to keep at
it.

With
all wisdom and insight he has made known to us the mystery of his will,
according to his good pleasure that he set forth in Christ, as a plan for the
fullness of time,
to gather up all things in him, things in heaven and things on
earth.

It
is not just about following a person with a particular set of values – it is
about transforming the whole of creation.

This
is a dimension to Christ that makes us steward the wonder of God’s creation.

In Christ we have also obtained an
inheritance, having been destined according to the purpose of him who
accomplishes all things according to his counsel and will, so that we, who were
the first to set
our hope on Christ, might live for the praise of his glory.

A
wonderful sense of purpose through Christ.

In him you also, when you had heard the word
of truth, the gospel of your salvation, and had believed in him, were marked
with the seal of the promised Holy Spirit; this is the pledge of our
inheritance towards redemption as God’s own people, to the praise of his glory.

Hear the
word of truth – the gospel of your salvation

Believe
in him

Marked
with the seal of the promised Holy Spirit– that
strength from beyond ourselves – the pledge of our inheritance– the down payment.

We
can only rise to the call Christ gives and put him at the centre of our
personal lives as we draw on a strength from beyond ourselves, the strength
that is given in the Holy Spirit.

For
me one way to bring that sense of the presence of Christ with us is to read the
words of Psalm 23. I love the Authorised version which somehow captures the
rhythms of spoken English that gives it a heart beat that touches our innermost
being.

Sunday, November 20, 2016

Text of the Week: Then afterwards I will pour out my spirit on all
flesh; your sons and your daughters shall prophesy, your old men shall dream
dreams, and your young men shall see visions.
Joel 2:28

Welcome to our services today and a special welcome to any worshipping with
us for the first time. This morning is a Sunday Special. That means our
children and young people are going to meet together in the first part of the
service and then come through to church. In that first part of the service we
will all of us, young and old alike, be preparing for our time of communion. In
prayer and praise, in Bible reading and reflection, in preparing the table and
in baking the bread we will be preparing to share in something that goes right
back to Jesus and that night of his betrayal when he shared the Passover with
his closest friends. The Passover meal is a family occasion in which the
youngest member of the family has one of the most significant parts to play. As
we gather around the table our younger members have something to give for all
of us to receive. We invite all who love the Lord Jesus Christ to share with us
in breaking bread and sharing the cup. Today is also a day when we join with
Open Doors in praying for persecuted Christians in Syria and Iraq. Please sign
the petition that is available at church.

Welcome to our services today and a special welcome to
any worshipping with us for the first time. This morning is a Sunday Special.
That means our children and young people are going to meet together in the
first part of the service and then come through to church. In that first part
of the service we will all of us, young and old alike, be preparing for our
time of communion. In prayer and praise, in Bible reading and reflection, in
preparing the table and in baking the bread we will be preparing to share in
something that goes right back to Jesus and that night of his betrayal when he
shared the Passover with his closest friends. The Passover meal is a family
occasion in which the youngest member of the family has one of the most
significant parts to play. As we gather around the table our younger members
have something to give for all of us to receive. We invite all who love the
Lord Jesus Christ to share with us in breaking bread and sharing the cup.

As we come together in a service that comes to its climax
in the sharing of bread and the taking of the cup the first part of our service
is a time of preparation – our children and young people are sharing in a time
of preparation and then in the spirit of that family gathering they are going
to share with us around the table.

Our preparation begins in praise of God.

The glory of God in creation. Think of one of those
wonderful moments when there is that wonderful sense of the glory of God in
creation. Maybe a mountop, maybe a coastal place, maybe the beauty of a flower,
maybe the setting sun, caught here by Cynthia on Priory Terrace overlooking the
church.

And glory in the God of creation.

There is much to praise God for.

It is this God who cares for each one of us, in this
moment, here and now. As Jane Gonzalez reminded us in yesterday’s readings from
Fresh from the Word, God holds us in his hands and cares for us. Julian of
Norwich lived in the time of the plague, the black death, at a time of wawr and
yet ~”she had utter faith in God’s loving providence. God loves us as a mother
does her child, totally, completely, without string. God made us, he loves us
and therefore he keeps us – treasured, safe, held in his loving hands.”

Julian of Norwich invites us to take a hazelnut and
hold it in the palm of our hands – imagine you are holding something such as
that.

And in this he showed me a little thing, the quantity
of a hazel nut, lying in the palm of my hand, as it seemed. And it was as round
as any ball. I looked upon it with the eye of my understanding, and thought,
'What may this be?' And it was answered generally thus, 'It is all that is
made.' I marveled how it might last, for I thought it might suddenly have
fallen to nothing for littleness. And I was answered in my understanding: It
lasts and ever shall, for God loves it. And so have all things their beginning
by the love of God.

In this little thing I saw three properties. The first
is that God made it. The second that God loves it. And the third, that God
keeps it. But what is this to me? Truly, the Creator, the Keeper, the Lover.

It is in Jesus that that love becomes most real – God
so loved the world that he gave his only begotten son that whosoever believes
in him should not perish but have eternal life.

In this is love not that we lovd God but that he loved
us and gave his son to be the means by which our sins are forgiven.

God is love.

It is that love of God, that love that will not let us
go that is in the words of a Psalm that was one of the great Psalms of Praise
used at Passover – the great hallelujah Psalm. As we read these words, let’s
make them our own.

O GIVE THANKS TO THE LORD FOR HE IS GOOD;

HIS STEADFAST LOVE ENDURES FOR EVER!

Let Israel say,

‘His
steadfast love endures for ever.’

Let the house of Aaron say,

‘His
steadfast love endures for ever.’

Let those who fear the Lord say,

‘His
steadfast love endures for ever.’

O GIVE THANKS TO THE LORD FOR HE IS GOOD;

HIS STEADFAST LOVE ENDURES FOR EVER!

Out of my distress I called on the Lord;

the Lord
answered me and set me in a broad place.

With the Lord on my side I do not fear.

What can
mortals do to me?

The Lord is on my side to help me;

I shall look
in triumph on those who hate me.

It is better to take refuge in the Lord

than to put
confidence in mortals.

It is better to take refuge in the Lord

than to put
confidence in princes.

O GIVE THANKS TO THE LORD FOR HE IS GOOD;

HIS STEADFAST LOVE ENDURES FOR EVER!

I was pushed hard, so that I was falling,

but the Lord
helped me.

The Lord is my strength and my might;

he has become
my salvation.

O GIVE THANKS TO THE LORD FOR HE IS GOOD;

HIS STEADFAST LOVE ENDURES FOR EVER!

There are glad songs of victory in the tents of the
righteous:

‘The right hand of the Lord does valiantly;

the right
hand of the Lord is exalted;

the right
hand of the Lord does valiantly.’

I shall not die, but I shall live,

and recount
the deeds of the Lord.

The Lord has punished me severely,

but he did
not give me over to death.

O GIVE THANKS TO THE LORD FOR HE IS GOOD;

HIS STEADFAST LOVE ENDURES FOR EVER!

Open to me the gates of righteousness,

that I may
enter through them

and give
thanks to the Lord.

This is the gate of the Lord;

the righteous
shall enter through it.

O GIVE THANKS TO THE LORD FOR HE IS GOOD;

HIS STEADFAST LOVE ENDURES FOR EVER!

I thank you that you have answered me

and have
become my salvation.

The stone that the builders rejected

has become
the chief cornerstone.

This is the Lord’s doing;

it is
marvellous in our eyes.

This is the day that the Lord has made;

let us
rejoice and be glad in it.

Save us, we beseech you, O Lord!

O Lord, we
beseech you, give us success!

O GIVE THANKS TO THE LORD FOR HE IS GOOD;

HIS STEADFAST LOVE ENDURES FOR EVER!

Blessed is the one who comes in the name of the Lord.

We bless you
from the house of the Lord.

The Lord is God,

and he has
given us light.

You are my God, and I will give thanks to you;

you are my
God, I will extol you.

O GIVE THANKS TO THE LORD FOR HE IS GOOD;

HIS STEADFAST LOVE ENDURES FOR EVER!

Let’s join in celebrating the wonder of the God who
loves us with a love that will not let us go, the God who is Creator, Lover,
Keeper.

A Hy-Spirit song

So much is involved in what we share aroiund the Table
– modern theorists remind us that we take things in and learn by hearing, by
seeing, and by doing. Jesus knew that instinctively.

Here at the table we hear words of promise from Jesus.

Come to me all you that labour and are heavy laden and
I will give you rest.

Peace I leave with you, my peace I give to you; not as
the world gives, give I to you. Let not your hearts be troubled, neither let
them be afraid.

I am with you always to the end of the age.

Let’s hear those words and treasure them in our
hearts.

We see – a table as it is being prepared for us, bread
broken, a coup that has been poured out – and in our mind’s eye we see the body
of Christ broken for us, the blood of Christ shed for us. We look to the cross and see the lamb of God
that takes away the sins of the world, that takes away the sin of each one of
us and forgives and renews.

We see the bread cupped in our hands we see the fruit
of the vine in the cup as we take it in our hands. As I hold the cup I see the
beat of my pulse in the liquid in the glass – maybe that’s just me.

Then I do – I take the break, I drink the cup – and I
sense this is real – just as the bread and the fruit of the vine is real so too
the love of God in Christ is real – made real by the presence of God with us as
we meet in the power and the strength of the Holy Spirit.

As we have heard and seen and done … so too then there
is an invitation to put into action the things that we have heard and seen and
done in the living of our lives.

Reading: John 13:3-5,12-15, 34-35

And during supper 3Jesus, knowing that the Father had
given all things into his hands, and that he had come from God and was going to
God, 4got up from the table, took off his outer robe, and tied a towel around
himself. 5Then he poured water into a basin and began to wash the disciples’
feet and to wipe them with the towel that was tied around him.

After he had washed their feet, had put on his robe,
and had returned to the table, he said to them, ‘Do you know what I have done
to you? 13You call me Teacher and Lord—and you are right, for that is what I
am. 14So if I, your Lord and Teacher, have washed your feet, you also ought to
wash one another’s feet. 15For I have set you an example, that you also should
do as I have done to you.

34I give you a new commandment, that you love one
another. Just as I have loved you, you also should love one another. 35By this
everyone will know that you are my disciples, if you have love for one
another.’

STL 29 Jesu, Jesu

One more thing is real to me as we gather here
together. It is that gathering together
that is all important. It is not something we do on our own. It is the meeting
together – people around us.

Jesus speaks of a new covenant in his blood. A
Covenant is a partnership, a commitment, an agreement, a relationship – the
story of the Bible is the story of God’s partnership, God’s commitment God’s
relationship with all creation, with his people, with each of us.

The covenant with Noah is a Covenant of Peace with All
Creation

(Genesis 9:8-17) that reminds us of God’s care for all
creation and our responsibility to care for all creation.

The covenant with Abraham is a Covenant of Blessing
for all Peoples

(Genesis 15:1-6) that reminds us that our relationship
with God is built on faith and for the good of others

The covenant with Moses is a Covenant of Commitment
sealed in blood (Exodus 24:1-11) and reminds us of God’s way for us to follow
in the world and our commitment to follow the way of life he maps out for us.

The covenant with David is a a Covenant of Commitment
to God’s Way (II Samuel 7:1-17) that is expected by God of those in power and
gives them a responsibility to work for righteousness and justice.

The tragedy of the Old Testament is the tragedy of
history and in a sense the tragedy of humanity: it’s the failure of people to
keep their part of the covenant relationship. It is at the moment of greatest
collapse that there is a vision shared by the pophets of that time.

They look to a new covenant that is written not on
stone tablets but written in the heart.
(Jeremiah 31:31-34). It is a wonderful vision.

It’s that new covenant that is sealed by Jesus around
the table in that supper – that new covenant that is written in our hearts as
we are drawn into the closest of relationships with God in Jesus Christ by the
unseen and yet so real power of the Holy Spirit.

To take the bread and drink of the cup is to re-commit
ourselves to the partnership, the relationship, the covenant with God that is
written in our hearts – that’s

·a covenant of Peace with all creation

·a covenant of Blessing for all peoples

·a covenant of Commitment sealed in Christ’s blood

·a covenant of Commitment to the God’s Way, Christ’s
way of justice, peace and love.

That new covenant relationship binds us with each
other. We do not break bread and take
the cup in isolation, on our own, in our own place. We come together with those
we share a commitment to, those we know, those we are in that covenant
partnership with.

It binds us together with all God’s people wherever
they may be. A sense of togetherness in Christ.

Earlier in the year we had a time when we focused on the persecuted church and
thought especially of our brothers and sisters in Christ facing persecution.
Churches up and down the country and across the world are today especially
remembering the Christians of Iraq and Syria with Open Doors.

PRAY AS NEVER BEFORE

Islamic extremists are intent on eradicating the church in the Middle
East, but many courageous Christians are determined to stay and serve their
communities. They're crying out to us - their global church family - for
support.

"We need prayer, every day," says a church leader, speaking on
behalf of displaced families in Iraq. "When we see pictures of IS (Islamic
State) on the television, we're afraid. When we hear that IS has been driven
back, we regain hope. Every day our feelings change. So please pray for us
every day."

Christians in Iraq and Syria need our prayers and support more than ever
before – and Sunday 20 November, the International Day of Prayer for the
persecuted church - provides a great opportunity to bring them hope.

It was most moving on Thursday to join in the
University with people from other faith communities in Cheltenham where across
the faith communities we share in a commitment to bring help and care and love
to people whose lives are being damaged by those same extremists of all faiths
in that region. Most moving to hear a refugee from Syria speaking of how much
she treasured the wrlcome given here in Cheltenham to her family.

Sunday, November 13, 2016

Text
of the Week: Therefore encourage one another and build up each other, as indeed
you are doing. 1 Thessalonians 5:11

Welcome
to our services today and a special welcome to any who are worshipping with us
for the first time. During our morning service we shall share in our Act of
Remembrance and observe two minutes of silence at 11- 00. Each of us will have
different things that we ‘remember’ during those two minutes of silence. Many
of those ‘memories’ will have been passed on to us. Some may be ‘memories’ of
our own. In the first part of the service there will be an opportunity for
people to share what it is they ‘remember’ and things that prompt those
memories to stay alive. You could say that in the first part of our service we
will be ‘remembering backwards’. I well remember meeting with people who had
been in the horror of the first world war. After our Act of Remembrance we will
then reflect on the call to ‘remember forwards’. Those who have been caught up
in the horror of war share the hope that it will end. We honour their memory by
also recalling today their longing for peace. It is as we ‘remember forwards’
and pledge ourselves to the task of ‘making peace’ in our generation that we
honour the memory of those who lost their lives in the wars of the last hundred
years and more.

This is a recording of our evening service ...

It included a video clip I made a few years ago at the Cheltenham War Memorial ...

Welcome
and Call to Worship

37
Our God, our help in ages past

Prayer
and the Lord’s Prayer

Remembrance
is done in many different settings from the Football Stadium to the shop on the
High Street to the Cenotaph in London to the War Memorial in Cheltenham. We
‘do’ our remembrance today as we gather together in Church in the name of Jesus
Christ and claim that promise he gives that where two or three gather together
in his name he is there in the midst of them. And so we turn to one of the most
familiar of Christmas readings and discover it has an appropriateness on
Remembrance Sunday. At Christmas we will recall that Jesus was born into a
world that knew only too well war and the rumour of war – it was a cruel world
which led to the slaughter of the innocents in Bethlehem and the flight of
Mary, Joseph and Jesus across the Sinai desert to Egypt. The prophets who
looked to the coming of a Messiah lived in times of war and the rumour of war.
These words from Isaiah 9 speak of the promise of a Messiah who will come into
a war-torn land of conflict. This is the Jesus we who is at the heart of our
worship today.

Reading
Isaiah 9:2-7

The
people who walked in darkness
have seen a great light;
those who lived in a land of deep darkness—
on them light has shined.

You have multiplied the nation,
you have increased its joy;
they rejoice before you
as with joy at the harvest,
as people exult when dividing plunder.

For the yoke of their burden,
and the bar across their shoulders,
the rod of their oppressor,
you have broken as on the day of Midian.

For all the boots of the tramping warriors
and all the garments rolled in blood
shall be burned as fuel for the fire.

For a child has been born for us,
a son given to us;
authority rests upon his shoulders;
and he is named
Wonderful Counsellor, Mighty God,
Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace.

His
authority shall grow continually,
and there shall be endless peace
for the throne of David and his kingdom.

He will establish and uphold it
with justice and with righteousness
from this time onwards and for evermore.

The zeal of the Lord of hosts will do this.

So,
a task to do for any of the younger members who want to – some pictures,
colouring, based on Remembrance and the words of that reading.

MTS
16 My Jesus, my Saviour

Remembering
Backwards

On
Remembrance Sunday what is it that you are remembering?

A
time to share

By 10-50 – Vic’s
Remembrance

https://youtu.be/iBAe0CKAQtk

About
seven years ago I asked one of our members who had been in the Second World War
to share his remembrances – Lorraine’s Dad, Vic – well loved in all the church
family, not least by the children. He wouldn’t do it in person, but he did it
in his own home. Lorraine asked if we could replay the clip of his remembrance.

We
have had handed on to us an Act of Remembrance that we share each year in this
church as we name.

Act
of Remembrance

In a moment or two we shall stand to remember those
who have lost their lives in war, particularly the wars our country has engaged
in during the last Century and this: the
First World War, the Second World War, Korea, the Suez War, the end of Empire Conflicts
in Africa and elsewhere, the Falklands War, the Gulf War, Bosnia, Kosovo, the
Iraq War, the Afghanistan War, the terrorist atrocities of 9/11 7/7 and since.

We make a special remembrance of those who lost their
lives from this church, most young men in their teens and in their twenties.

Those who were in that First World War longed that it
should be the war to end all wards. Those who were in the Second World War longed
that it should be the war to tend all wars … as we remember, let us honour
their memory in our commitment to work by all means possible for that peace
which they longed to pass on to future generations, a peace we pray for in a
world that in so many places is still at war.

Will you please stand.

We remember all those who have lost their lives in war
… particularly do we remember those connected with this fellowship, Highbury Congregational Church who lost their lives:

W.G. Bowles

DM Brown

G Clayton

C Coles

F Cooper

F Gill

K Gurney

HG Marshall

J Phillips

J Saunders

W Stephens

F Warren

CW Winterbottom

H Woodward

And Paul Chadwick who lost his life in Iraq.

They shall not grow old as we that are left grow old;
age shall not weary them, nor the years condemn. At the going down of the sun and in the
morning, we will remember them.

2 Minutes Silence and then Prayer

S
19 Make me a channel of your peace

Activities
for all over 3

Remembering
Forwards

When
I was getting ready for today’s service I came across a hymn that was written
specially for Remembrance Sunday by a modern hymn writer, Fred Kaan. It comes
to an end with an invitation

May we, im-passioned by your living Word,
remember forward to a world
restored.

I
like that phrase.

Much
of what we do on Remembrance Sunday is ‘remembring backwards’. I am of the
immediate post war generation. I do not have memories of my own but I do have
memories that were passed on to me by my parents. In the early years of my
ministry I got to know many people who had fought in the First World War and
then those who had been in the second world war. The one thing that sticks in
my mind is especially those from the first world war did not want to talk about
their experiences. In what they did recall, they would without exception recall
the longing they had for the war to end and for them to get back to their loved
ones. They would recall their longing for peace.

If
we remember backwards to their time we should remember what they were looking
forward to, what they were working towards. We honour their memory by pledging
ourselves to work for that peace they longed for.

It
is one of the tragedies of the wars we do remember that all too often the
ending of a war has sown the seeds of further conflict. The harsh reparations
imposed at the end of the first world war contributed to the rise of Nazism and
so the second world war. The straight lines drawn in the sand by Sykes and
Picot and then imposed around the Middle East at the end of the first world war
contribute still to the conflict that rages in the Middle East today.

It
is a tragedy that is unfolding before our eyes that in the wars against Iraq,
Afghanistan and Libya that we have fought in recent years no attention was
given to building the peace afterwards and we see how that failure has
contributed among other things to the rise of daeash, ISIS and so much that is
going on now.

But
fort all that in our remembering we can remember the efforts that were made for
peace – not least in the wake of the Second World War to introduce institutions
that would enable the world to work for peace and not be at war.

Maybe
it is our responsibility not only to remember backwards but also remember
forwards. What is our task today.

I
have a feeling we are in need of some encouragement. The text of the week is
not out of place at all. Therefore
encourage one another and build up each other, as indeed you are doing. 1
Thessalonians 5:11

In
the first part of our service we read that passage from Isaiah that speaks of
the coming of Christ but against a backdrop of war and the rumour of war.

The
book of Revelation is written as a letter from John the Divine who is the
victim of the violence of repression and persecution to people who are all too
aware of war and the rumour of war in the face of Roman might at its worst.

It
is a word of encouragement that’s built about remembering forward.

It
presents us with a vision of glory in the eternity of God’s love.

Take
encouragement from the vision. Keep at it. But more than that. Remember
forwards.

Draw
down into the present what the vision is about and make that the task to
follow.

Reading:
Revelation 21:1-4,

Then
I saw a new heaven and a new earth; for the first heaven and the first earth
had passed away, and the sea was no more. And I saw the holy city, the new
Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God, prepared as a bride adorned for
her husband. And I heard a loud voice from the throne saying,

‘See, the home of God is among ordinary people.
He will dwell with them;
they will be his peoples,
and God himself will be with them;
he will wipe every tear from their eyes.
Death will be no more;
mourning and crying and pain will be no more,
for the first things have passed away.’

If
God will wipe every tear from their eyes then our task here and now is to wipe
away tears, bring comfort to those who mourn, alleviate the suffering of those
who cry and are in pain.

Wipe
away tears, alleviate suffering, bring comfort. The very specific detailed
things we do this week matter: they count. American Novelist, Richard Ford,
writing in the paper this week quoted William Blake: “He who would do good for
another must do it in minute particulars … General good is the plea of the
scoundrel, the hypocrite and the flatterer.”

But
the small detail is part of a bigger picture. The vision goes on …

Revelation
21: 22-24;

I
saw no temple in the city,

for
its temple is the Lord God the Almighty and the Lamb.

And
the city has no need of sun or moon to shine on it,

for
the glory of God is its light, and its lamp is the Lamb.

he
nations will walk by its light,

and
the kings of the earth will bring their glory into it.

If
nations will walk by the light of God in Jesus Christ that is why it is so
important to work out and apply Christian values in the life of the nations. It
is our responsibility to seek to work out Christian values in the life of the
nation.

And
one more part to the vision …

Revelation
22:1-5

Then
the angel showed me the river of the water of life,

bright
as crystal, flowing from the throne of God and of the Lamb

through
the middle of the street of the city.

On
either side of the river is the tree of life

with
its twelve kinds of fruit, producing its fruit each month;

and
the leaves of the tree are for the healing of the nations.

Nothing
accursed will be found there any more.

But
the throne of God and of the Lamb will be in it,

and
his servants will worship him;

they
will see his face, and his name will be on their foreheads.

And
there will be no more night;

they
need no light of lamp or sun,

for
the Lord God will be their light,

and
they will reign for ever and ever.

It’s
a wonderful vision of God’s glory. One to hold on to in the middle of dark
times. But remembering forwards to those leaves that are for the healing of the
nations gives us a responsibility to be concerned internationally for healing
in the nations of the world.

It
is no coincidence that out of the aftermath of the Second World war came the
churches response to bring healing to the nations in Christian Aid – how vital
that work is now not just giving aid, but also helping to shape what should be
done to bring healing to the nations.

May we, im-passioned by your living Word,
remember forward to a world
restored.

There
was one more part to that conversation I had with Vic Lewis. The conversation
moved on to what Vic did next – coming out of the experience of war he felt
called to the service of others and devoted a large part of his life to the
small detail of doing good through the Order of St John and the work of St John
Ambulance.

Remembering
forwards – Vic’s thoughts on the service of others and the importance of
prayer.

Shaping our Church for tomorrow

Our sermons on Sunday mornings are exploring the way we can make that a reality.

Mapping the Church of the Future

As we re-shape the life of our church and dream dreams for the future of Highbury we are reading through Acts on Sunday evenings. Our series of sermons with the title 'Mapping the Church of the Future' is a 21st Century view of Acts.